Review 3930: Dolce Roma, Campo de' Fiori

When

Dec 2008, 6 days

Location

In the heart of the ancient part of Rome, with cobbled narrow streets lined by all sorts of small shops and tiny restaurants, cafes. A few minutes walk to Campo dei Fiori square with its open-air market; five minutes to Piazza Navona with its fountains, restaurants (and garish souvenir shops). The apartment is on the second (American) floor, up some slightly steep steps. No elevator. The steps are easily negotiable with luggage. However, the middle part of the stairway, where it takes a turn, is open to the skies. This is nice when it is sunny, but when it rains, this area can be slippery - be careful. The stairway is lighted, with light switches at bottom and top of stairs. There are apartments above as well, I think. Very convenient for all the tourist sights. We walked to the Colosseum (20 minutes), Pantheon (10 minutes), Vatican (15 minutes). We felt safe walking about even late at night.

Nearby Amenities

A bakery is nearby on the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele (which runs behind the apartment), another one on the same street the apartment is. There is a small supermarket in the square near the apartment, a wine bar across the street (no noise!), a laundrette across the street (no self-service), more than enough cafes and restaurants in the small streets nearby.

The House/Apartment

An old, historical and well preserved building (Natalia can tell you the history of this building - interesting!). Three of us stayed here. There was more than enough room. The rooms, furniture and kitchen utensils are clean, in good shape. The back of the apartment looks onto a small courtyard, looks like some other apartment's backyard. The rooms are well insulated and warm in December. The heating worked very well. The double windows shut out almost all noise, we slept well. The living room has a TV. Wireless Internet connection is included and worked well, was fast (802.11g). The front door has a fearsome looking four-bolt lock - looks very secure!

Garden

No outside sitting area and certainly no pool! This was absolutely no problem for us in December. We spent most of the day outside - walking, walking, walking!

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

Everything was in good shape, clean. The couches in the living room are rather low, but comfortable. Enough closet space for us.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

Very comfortable, firm beds. Good lighting in bedrooms. The second bedroom is smaller, one has to squeeze past the bed to get to the other side. Our daughter had this room, I heard no complaints at all. The bathrooms are small, but we got used to it by the second day. Plenty of hot water in the showers. Plenty of towels, extra sheets and blankets were available in the apartment.

Kitchen

The kitchen has a dining table and four chairs. It can be a little tight with four people in there. Plenty of cups, saucers, cutlery, pots and pans - all clean. An espresso coffee maker (not like the fancy ones in coffee-shops!) was very welcome. There was coffee, sugar, biscotti - all stocked by the owners for our use. We shopped in the market and grocery store and cooked one night - I recommend trying this, the ingredients taste much better than the same ones I buy in upstate New York.

Problems or Bonuses

The owners thought the shower in the second bathroom might have a leak. We used the shower in the first bathroom only, but used the two bathrooms otherwise. We were pleasantly surprised by the sound insulation. The street directly below the bedroom windows has car traffic, but the windows shut it all out. The surrounding streets are picturesque - cobbled, winding. But be careful. Streets that look like tiny loading alleys have busy car traffic, these tiny cars zip up and down!

Agency and Representatives (and price)

Natalia and Walter met us at the apartment, showed us around, sat down and gave us the survival essentials - nearby stores, where to buy bus tickets, Roma pass, sights not to miss, restaurants they recommend, how to connect to the Internet, make espresso! Fantastic! They left us with a cellphone and checked how we were faring. There were umbrellas for a rainy day, wall electrical adapter to use with my computer. When we mentioned we had no alarm clock, they brought us one. Both speak excellent English.

We had chosen this apartment based on good reviews in Slow Travel- we were not disappointed in any way. Natalia and Walter made our Rome trip pleasant and stress-free. I cannot recommend them enough.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

Absolutely! See my comments above. Instead being cooped up in a hotel room, staring at each other and getting in each others way, we had room for a little privacy at the end of a tiring day.

Things to do in this area

All the sights are within walking distance (if you do not mind walking 20-30 minutes each way). Buses are convenient, close by. No metro nearby. I recommend the Trattoria Antica Polese on your first day in Rome. This is very close to the apartment, so you do not have to go searching on the first day, and the food is good. There are two more restaurants in the same square. We also visited Pierluigi (close by, OK but not great), Ditirambo (rather expensive, near Campo de'Fiori, very good food and service), Cul de Sac ( small, atmospheric, less expensive, OK food).

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.